What a month it has been! Full of highs and lows, unexpected twists, and, above all, an incredibly inconsistent sleep schedule. But we’re hopeful that soon enough we’ll fall back into a routine.
We have water!
…and LOTS of it! We have what seems to be an unlimited supply! We are thrilled that we found a good water source and that God provided every step of the way! And the kids have really enjoyed playing in it!
Everything is done and now we are just waiting for the water jugs to arrive, which we’re hoping will be within two weeks—though in Guatemala, things don’t always move as quickly as planned. What makes this even more exciting is that we’ve found a place that will customize the jugs for us! Each jug will feature John 4:13-14: “Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.’”
We can’t think of a more fitting verse to accompany this water distribution. Our prayer is that as people drink this purified water, they’ll develop a deeper thirst for Living Water that brings eternal life.
Once the project is up and running, we’ll need to hire someone to manage it—responsible for washing, filling, sealing, and distributing the jugs. We’ll also need to raise funds to cover this person’s salary. Additionally, we’re looking into purchasing a 4×4 pickup truck to aid in water delivery and other ministry projects, as our current vehicles can’t reach the mountain areas where we’d like to conduct more house visits.
We would greatly appreciate your prayers and financial support in helping cover these operational costs.
Community Center Progress
Though the funding for our community center hasn’t come in as expected, we’re confident that God will provide in His perfect timing. We’ve received some donations, and we’re determined to make the most of what we have. We’ll begin some of the work ourselves to save costs, including installing a precast block wall, replacing the metal roof on the existing structure, and if money allows, also replacing the front gate that is in sad condition. These improvements will allow us to start using the property. We plan to serve food there once a week, with hopes of gradually transitioning to serving all three meals each week on the property. We don’t want to abruptly stop serving in the town center, as many have been coming for years. Anyone is welcome to visit the property, though we know it might be a bit far for some.
In the meantime, mango season just started so we have been making good use of the property by having mango picking days!
We’re also thrilled to announce that on March 7th, we’ll be hosting a medical clinic on the property with a visiting medical team! This will be our first official event at the site, and we’re so excited to begin using the space and strengthening relationships with the surrounding community. Please keep this event in your prayers!
Personal Update
February has been anything but predictable! Maudilio has been working tirelessly to finish setting up the filtration system. We’ve had numerous friends and teams visit Aliento, helped many people from Hope for Home move, and I (Taryn) had the privilege of helping out at a children’s retreat with a church in Cobán last weekend. It was an exhausting, busy, and fun time, but overall such a blessing. It’s been a tiring month, but the excitement and progress we’re seeing make it all worthwhile.
We’re also working hard to finalize the paperwork for Maudilio’s U.S. visa application. For those unfamiliar, it’s an extremely challenging process—lots of paperwork, long wait times, and plenty of uncertainty. We’re told we won’t hear anything for about 14 months after submitting the application, and we can’t move forward until we hear back. Needless to say, the waiting is stressful, but we trust that God has a plan, and in His timing, Maudilio will be able to travel and see where I grew up.
And as I mentioned earlier, our sleep schedule has been all over the place! For instance, we only got three hours of sleep last night before heading to the U.S. Embassy for an appointment. So, needless to say, we’re both pretty exhausted and basically living off of coffee.
Prayer Requests
– Please join us in praying for the upcoming prayer and dedication time for the water project in the next couple of weeks. I am hoping to maybe livestream the prayer and dedication time. So, stay tuned to our social media to try and join in that!
– Pray for wisdom for Maudilio as he begins work on the property and that he can stretch our resources wisely. Also, please lift up the medical clinic next Friday, that it will be a blessing to everyone involved and an opportunity to share Jesus’ love.
– Pray that we’ll be able to get back to a consistent and restful schedule soon.
Thank you so much for reading, praying, encouraging, and supporting us in this mission. We’re incredibly grateful for each one of you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly—we love hearing from you. And if you have any prayer requests, we’d love to pray for you as well!
